Thursday, January 23, 2014

I shared this painting just a couple of posts ago. One of the questions I get asked a lot about my work is how I create the texture in my paintings so I went into the studio, grabbed my little camera and shot a short video to explain one of the techniques I use to prepare the canvas for painting. Hope this answers some questions. If you want to know more just comment and I'll be happy to help.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Sometimes I branch out from the canvas and get crafty. Years ago I dyed my own reed and wove baskets, I did needle work, crocheted - still do some crocheting (all these grandbabies need blankets!), sewed pillows and other things for the home (that trend didn't last long- me and the sewing machine didn't exactly get along, it was a love/hate thing). Anyway..... the latest thing is pendants.

Yesterday I added a new item to my Etsy shop. It's an 8 page tutorial called Making Pendants. This is a fun and easy way to make your own SUPER lightweight accessories and if you're a painter, most of the materials are already in your studio. From Etsy it's an instant download and it's only 2.99.

Do you see the little box to the left that says Follow by Email? If you type your email in there and click submit I'll send you the tutorial for nothing. Free, nada, zip.

So if you're interested in learning how to make something fun and different you can see how with a bunch of full color photos to guide you.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

January is sliding away FAST!!! So much going on.... prepping for the studio workshop aka Friday Painting Party and working on paintings for my upcoming show in Macon GA at The 567 Center for Renewal February 7-28.

Right now I'm working on some 8x10s. These might be small in size but they are BIG in texture. I prepped the canvas with a layer of crumpled tissue before painting. I love the way the texture breaks up the brush strokes and the color.

Bogan Park Afternoon

8x10, acrylic and gold leaf on canvas

Did you notice I couldn't resist adding gold leaf? Of course not. The show is called the Golden Landscape. Not every single piece in the show has gold leaf but a lot of them do. The palette used on the others includes a lot of golden color. Apparently I'm still in my red/gold phase. I don't seem to get tired of these hot colors.

In case you missed it.....

This is the project we're doing next week, Jan. 24th, in the Friday Painting Party. We have 2 sessions to choose from. The afternoon runs from 1-4 and the evening is 7-10. We'll be doing the birdhouse in both, we added the afternoon session for the folks who don't want to drive at night or would just rather be in their pj's after supper. (I can relate, that's how you'll find me most nights)

You don't have to have any painting experience to take this class and we provide absolutely everything you need to start and finish the painting during that time. Just bring yourself and your favorite beverage. We'll take care of everything else. Class size is limited so let us know as soon as you can if you plan to attend. Cost is $50 and payment in advance guarantees your seat.

Hope you're doing something creative and holler at me if you want more info about the Painting Party or weekly classes. Oh... and stop by the Facebook page to see what else is going on.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

First week of the new year and starting to wind down. Today we celebrated my grandson's first birthday. Great party but a little windy and chilly. We were outside at a park - one of the perks of living in Florida - you can do that in January but if you plan something for outside, you don't know if it's going to be 35 degrees or 85 degrees. You just have to wait and see what happens.

Anyway.... that was the last get together for these 2 holiday weeks and it's time to get back to painting. Tomorrow I head back to the studio to continue working on the Macon show. This is a Georgia landscape in progress. I still have some layering to do and might be adding some more gold leaf. It has lots of texture so I want to play that up a bit more.

And... look what came in the mail yesterday thanks to an Amazon gift card I got for my birthday. SQUEEE...I'm SO EXCITED! Here's someone else who loves to play with gold leaf like I do. Can't wait to go through it an find some new techniques to try. I'll let you know what I find.

Hope you had a fun New Year's celebration and here's to 2014 - may it be filled with family, fun, good health, prosperity and oodles of painting time :)

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Self portrait, watercolor and graphite on Terraskin paper

About Me

From painting as a young college student I detoured into fashion illustration at the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale to graphic design and now I'm a painter, teacher, author, blogger, wife, mother of 3 - two I raised and reunited with the one lost to the adoption industry. I'm also a grandmother of 7. All of these roles overlap and intertwine to make for a wonderfully interesting life.